ISIL setbacks reported in two Syrian provinces

Syrian opposition forces have backed Kurdish YPG units in a major offensive in ISIL's stronghold of Raqqa [AFP]

A Syrian alliance has forced fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) group away from one of its key supply routes on the border with Turkey, according to a UK-based monitoring group.

The opposition coalition captured al-Bal village in northern Aleppo from ISIL on Friday, in a major advance towards the Bab al-Salama border crossing, which is just 10km away, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported.

The village's recapture came after heavy fighting, which killed at least 14 opposition fighters and 15 ISIL members, Rami Abdel Rahman, head of the Syrian Observatory, said.

Further south, fighters were battling to defend the town of Marea, on the road between the crossing and the opposition-held eastern sector of Aleppo city.

Activists said the opposition forces were simultaneously launching their own attacks on ISIL positions in the area.

"The ultimate goal for ISIL is to cut off this crossing," Abdel Rahman said.

Mamun Abu Omar, the head of a local opposition press agency, said: "ISIL is trying to surround the town by occupying the villages all around it."

The opposition fighters are battling both ISIL and government forces in Aleppo province.

Meanwhile, in the eastern part of the country, the Syrian Kurdish YPG group, backed by other Syrian opposition groups, have reportedly pushed further into ISIL's stronghold of Raqqa province, in an attempt to capture a strategic town.